Ice-cream-can lifter



July 29 1924.

A. BRUNES ICE CREAM CAN LIFTER Filed June 7v EN /El 6 i 17V VE'JV TOR. W M flrronwzx l ll Patented July 29, 1924.

' AUGUST BR UNES, OF PEQUOT, MINNESOTA.

ICE-CREAMi-CAN LIFTER.

Application filed June 7,

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, AUGUST BnUNns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pequot, in the county of Crow Wing and State of h linnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ice-Cream- Can Lifters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for lifting ice-cream cans out of the usual wooden tubs holding such cans surrounded by broken ice. The device may also be used for plac ing the can back again and for lifting in general of suchor similar cans made without handles; and the object is to provide an efiicient, inexpensive device for said purposes.

In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a top view of an ice-cream can with my lifting device shown in operative position upon it.

Fig. 2 is a diametrical vertical section of the upper portion of a wooden tub holding an ice-cream can packed in broken ice and my lifting device applied to the can.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a portion of the ice-cream can and one of the double hooks lifting it, looking as from either left or right in Fig. 2, but with the cover 89 omitted.

Referring to the drawing by reference numerals, 5 designates the usual wooden tub holding a sheet metal can 6 surrounded by bro-ken ice 7 for cooling purposes, and having a cover 8 with handle 9. Said cover is usually formed with a. vertical rim 10 resting upon an external peripheral ring or collar 11 of the can. In some cases the cover may not reach the collar 11 but may rest on the top edge of the can and in other cases the collar 11 is higher up or even as high as the vessel top and is then usually a roll formed of the edge of the vessel and stiffened by an inlaid wire ring (not shown).

To lift such vessels I provide a horizontal handle bar 12 having at each end an elongated eye 13 affording a limited swinging movement of two rods 14 having their upper ends pivoted at 15 and their lower ends each bifurcated to form a pair of hooks 16 adapted, to engage under the collar 11, one pair at each opposite side of the can.

To hold the hooks firmly engaged I employ a vertically slidable horizontal bar 17 having its ends formed with loops 18 SllClable on the rods 14. When said bar 17 1923. Serial No. 643,980.

is dropped down upon shoulders 19 on rods 14 the hooks 16 are fully engaged with the can, especially as the edges 20 of the bars 1 1 are slightly spread outward from vertical lines with their lower ends. Furthermore the bar 17 is provided with a turnbuckle 21 by which to adjust the hooks to cans varying in diameter. If they vary much then an extra large size of my device may be furnished.

In the operation of the device the operator holds the bars 12 and 17 in the same hand, bar 17 being raised up to the studs 22 in rods 14. This holds the hooks 16 spread as in the dotted lines in Fig. 2 while the hooks are being pushed down into the ice and water deep enough to engage under the collar 11, bar 17 is then dropped down and. if necessary, pushed down till it has fully closed the hooks in under the rib or collar 11, whereupon the handle bar 12 is used for lifting and placing the can as may be desired. The hooks are then disengaged by raising the bar 17 In the manufacturing of the device the turnbuckle may in some cases be omitted because some dealers handle only one or two certain sizes of cans. As for rendering the manufacturing inexpensive it is well to make all the parts of malleable iron or drop forgings and make the studs 22 integral with the rods or arms 14, and making the loops 18 wide enough at the middle to slip down over the studs and then close the sides of each loop 18 to parallel posit-ion which will prevent their escape upward over the studs a ain. A. similar process may also produce the pivots 15 in the eyes 13,but even if drilling and rivets be used said upper joints 13-let-15 will not cost much to make.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

. 1. In a lifting device of the class described, a horizontal handle bar, two arms pivotally suspended one from each end of the handle bar and having its lower end formed with one or more hooks turned inward toward a similar hook or hooks on the other arm, a second horizontal bar below the handle bar and having its ends formed with loops slidable on the arms and adapted to spread them when raised and close them when lowered.

2. The structure specified in claim 1, and means holding the arms approximately at a predetermined angle to the handle bar.

3. The structure specified in claim 1, in

which the arms have means for limiting the upward movement of the second horizontal bar when the latter is in parallel position to the handle bar.

4. The structure specified in claim 1, and means on the arms for stopping the downward movement of the second horizontal bar with said bar in parallel position to the handle bar.

5. The structure specified in claim 1, and 10 means for adjusting the length of the second horizontal bar.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

AUGUST BRUNES. l 

